Biofuels

New Centre For Non-Food Crop Products And Technologies Launched

The National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) is launched today (24 November) by Food and Farming Minister Lord Whitty. The NNFCC aims to raise awareness among scientists, farmers and industry of the hundreds of products crops could be used for, such as car parts, lubricants, beauty creams, clothing, starch-based plastics, renewable construction materials and solvents free of toxic chemicals.

The York-based centre will provide a database for non-food crop products and technologies, bringing together the experience of the farmers who produce them, the scientists who research their potential, and businesses which generate demand for them. It will spread scientific and technical information as widely as possible to raise the profile of non-food crops, and will play a role in delivering the Government's strategy for non-food crops, due to be published next year.

The development of the non-food crops sector will provide information for farmers looking for new markets in the wake of reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); some non-food crops will be grown on set-aside land and there will be financial help for energy crops and biofuels.

The development of non-food crops can also, in many cases, contribute to a cleaner environment.

See news release 491/03 and the industrial crops pages on this site.

See also the NNFCC website.